91 killed as Dhaka turns into battleground
Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resign, clashed with government supporters on Sunday, with dozens killed in one of the deadliest days since demonstrations began.
Rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas have escalated into some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old to step down.
At least 91 people were killed on Sunday alone, including 14 police officers, with the rival sides battling with sticks and knives and security forces firing rifles, taking the total killed since protests began in July to at least 261.
Police said protesters attacked their officers, including storming a station in the town of Enayetpur.
“The terrorists attacked the police station and killed 11 policemen,” said Bijoy Basak, a deputy inspector general.
AFP journalists reported hearing sustained crackles of gunfire after dark on Sunday, with protesters defying a nationwide curfew.
In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem the protests, unlike the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.
Demonstrators in the capital Dhaka, surrounded by a tightly packed and cheering crowd, waved a Bangladeshi flag on top of an armoured car as soldiers watched.
Asif Mahmud, one of the main leaders in the civil disobedience campaign, called on supporters to march on Dhaka on Monday. “Prepare bamboo sticks and liberate Bangladesh,” he wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “The time has come for the final protest,” he said.